Pffft. Call me when the Mets have a payroll that's even close to the Yankees, and the Yankees are within, say, 50M of the rest of MLB.
The problem is the Yankees' overspending, not the Mets' underspending
Yankees $209,081,579 $6,744,567
Tigers $138,685,197 $4,622,840
Mets $138,293,378 $4,609,779
Red Sox $133,440,037 $4,765,716
White Sox $121,152,667 $4,487,136
Angels $119,216,333 $4,110,908
Cubs $118,595,833 $4,392,438
Dodgers $118,536,038 $4,233,430
Mariners $117,993,982 $4,538,230
Braves $102,424,018 $3,414,134
Cardinals $100,624,450 $3,049,226
Blue Jays $98,641,957 $3,522,927
Phillies $98,269,881 $3,388,617
Astros $ 88,930,415 $3,293,719
Brewers $ 81,004,167 $2,793,247
Indians $ 78,970,067 $3,037,310
Giants $76,904,500 $2,651,879
Reds $74,277,695 $2,971,108
Padres $ 73,677,617 $2,376,697
Rockies $ 68,655,500 $2,640,596
Rangers $ 68,239,551 $2,353,088
Orioles $67,196,248 $2,099,883
Diamondbacks $66,202,713 $2,364,383
Twins $ 62,182,767 $ 2,487,311
Royals $58,245,500 $2,240,212
Nationals $ 54,961,000 $1,895,207
Pirates $ 49,365,283 $1,898,665
A's $ 47,967,126 $1,713,112
Rays $43,820,598 $1,460,687
Marlins $ 21,836,500 $661,712